Proxy Check

A proxy check examines an IP address for signals that indicate the traffic is being routed through an intermediary. The tool looks at three things: whether the IP is a known TOR exit node, whether the ISP or organization name matches known VPN or hosting providers, and (for your own IP) whether your browser is sending proxy-related HTTP headers like X-Forwarded-For or Via. It returns a true or false flag for each category alongside location and ISP data.

VPN detection works by matching the ISP and organization name registered to the IP against a list of known keywords. These include the names of major VPN providers such as nordvpn, surfshark, mullvad, proton, expressvpn, and cyberghost, as well as generic infrastructure terms like datacenter, hosting, cloud, and anonymizer. If the organization name contains any of these, the VPN flag is set to true. This method does not catch VPNs that route through residential ISPs, because those IPs look like regular home connections.

Proxy headers are HTTP headers that proxy servers and CDNs append to requests as they forward them. Common ones include X-Forwarded-For, Via, CF-Connecting-IP, and True-Client-IP. These headers often contain the original client IP or intermediate server addresses, which can reveal that a proxy is in the chain even if the connecting IP looks clean. The tool reads these headers when you check your own IP, because they are sent by your browser to the server receiving your request. They are not visible when checking a third-party IP.

Yes. Toggle to Batch Check mode and enter up to 10 IP addresses or domains, one per line, then click Check All. The tool processes each address individually and displays separate results for each one. This is useful when you have a short list from server logs or a sign-up form and want to classify each address without running separate checks manually. The batch limit is 10 items per submission.

A proxy is an intermediary server that forwards your requests, replacing your IP with its own but typically without encrypting traffic. A VPN (Virtual Private Network) does the same IP substitution but also encrypts the connection between your device and the VPN server, making the traffic content opaque to observers on your local network. TOR (The Onion Router) routes traffic through multiple volunteer-operated relays, encrypting it at each hop, which makes origin tracing significantly harder than with a single-hop proxy or VPN. Each method leaves different detectable signals in ISP data and headers.

This proxy tester checks whether an IP is routing through an anonymization layer, such as a proxy, VPN, or TOR node. It does not say anything about the IP's reputation for spam or abuse. An IP blacklist checker queries DNS-based blocklists to see whether the address has been reported for sending spam or malicious traffic. An IP can be on a blacklist without using a proxy, and a proxy IP can be clean on all blacklists. The two tools answer different questions and are most useful in combination.

Yes. You can enter a domain name in both Single Check and Batch Check modes. The tool resolves the domain to its IP address first, then runs the proxy and VPN detection against that IP. This is useful when you have a hostname from a log file rather than a raw address. Keep in mind that the result reflects the IP the domain resolves to at the time of the check, which may change if the domain uses dynamic DNS or a CDN.

No, and the tool does not claim otherwise. Detection relies on ISP and organization name heuristics, which means a VPN provider that purchases residential IP blocks from a regular ISP will not be flagged, because the organization name does not match any known keyword. Similarly, a private proxy running on a personal server may appear as a regular hosting IP without triggering the proxy flag. TOR detection depends on the upstream service maintaining an up-to-date list of exit nodes, so very new nodes may be missed temporarily.

Each result includes the IP address, a true or false flag for proxy, VPN, and TOR status, the ISP name, the registered organization, and location data covering country, region, and city. When you check your own IP, the result also lists any proxy-related HTTP headers your connection is sending, such as X-Forwarded-For, Via, CF-Connecting-IP, and True-Client-IP. These headers are not available for third-party IP checks because they depend on what your own browser transmits to the server.

The tool processes the IP addresses you submit in order to return results, but does not store or log them for profiling purposes. For full details on how Pingie handles data, see the privacy policy . If you are checking your own IP, the tool reads headers from your current request, which exist only for the duration of that request and are not retained afterward.

This happens when your VPN provider routes traffic through IP addresses registered to an ISP whose name does not match any of the known VPN-related keywords. Some providers buy residential or business IP blocks specifically to avoid detection. In this case, the tool will not flag the connection as a VPN because the organization name looks like a regular ISP. It does not mean the tool is broken; it means the provider is using IPs that are designed to blend in with non-VPN traffic.

The proxy check tool focuses on whether an IP belongs to an anonymization service, using ISP data and exit node lists. An HTTP headers checker inspects the response headers that a web server sends back, which reveals things like caching configuration, server software hints, and security policy headers. The two tools look at different parts of the network transaction. Proxy detection is about the origin of the connection; HTTP header inspection is about what the destination server discloses in its response.